I’ve always been fascinated with the history of the cold war spy novel. I had previously considered Atomsk, released in 1949 and written by Carmichael Smith, the first but it appears to only be the first US Cold War novel. The UK’s Humphrey Slater wrote Conspirator and beat Atomsk by a year. Conspirator follows a …
Continue reading Conspirator by Humphrey Slater – The first Cold War novel?
After being teased by Nick Harkaway, one of le Carré's sons, during book events surrounding the release of Silverview we now have additional details on a book of John le Carré/David Cornwell correspondence. The book, currently titled A Private Spy: The Letters of John le Carré, 1945-2020, has a UK release date of November 3rd, …
After an off year of reading in 2020, I had a return closer to form in 2021. Below I’ve highlighted some of my favorite spy related novels in no particular order. Slough House by Mick Herron - Herron continues to fire on all cylinders with his seventh book in the Slough House series. This one …
There are a few different versions of the Moscow Rules, the term that refers to how a spy should handle themselves behind enemy lines. I like this version I found on a postcard in the International Spy Museum.
Finding books that John le Carré has recommended, contributed to or written introductions/forewords to has become something of a passion project for me. In the process of doing this research I came upon its flip side - the fake le Carré blurb scandal. Back in 1991 a writer named Derek Van Arman was involved in a …
I"m back with another addition to my growing list of books le Carré has recommended or blurbed. Catch up with my previous posts - Part one Part two Here are the new additions - The Reason Why by Cecil Woodham-Smith - JlC review - "I’m not sure why I returned to this classic account of one …
This past summer I was able to take a road trip to Washington D.C. and while there visited the International Spy Museum. Open since 2002, it's one of the few museums dedicated to espionage. It's set to move to a new, bigger location in early 2018 so this is a last look at the museum's …
If you are a spy fan and you are in London, odds are you will want to take a spy tour. I was able to take advantage of many of the ones I found during my recent trip there and wanted to offer a list of the various options. I didn't take a bad one, …
Who knew that Chicago was such a hot bed of intrigue? This story from 1977 in the Chicago Reader brought it to light. The article tells the story of how the CIA used (uses?) legitimate companies to provide a cover for CIA agents in other countries. In return these companies received lucrative contracts from the …
For anyone interested in up to date information on the bleeding edge of spying in the modern world, Wired's Danger Room blog is a must-visit site.
Does it get any better than Computer Animated news on spies? I didn't think so. The news came out through another cable that Wikileaks has released. As discussed in this full story at the Telegraph, Japan has had no spy agency since WWII.
Women Suffragists who were nearly prosecuted under the Espionage Act in 1917 when they protested Woodrow Wilson in front of the White House.
Following up on a quick look at Union spies, here is Belle Boyd a spy for the Confederacy. She was captured on suspicion of spying three separate times and died after the war in Wisconsin Dells, WI. More at Wikipedia.
In my internet travels I stumbled on this site, The Literature of Intelligence, dedicated to nonfiction books and articles on the Intelligence business. I've only just begun to scratch the surface of what is found there but the depth of information collected is pretty extraordinary. Being organized by a former member of the CIA turned …
Continue reading Intelligence bibliography – Spy Website of the Week
NPR's Talk of the Nation in 2005 had a interesting interview with a number of former CIA workers that have written spy related fiction and nonfiction. It's well worth a listen - NPR Talk of the Nation - Spy Writers
In just another example of how much things have changed since the Cold War, the US government is looking to pass a law to make it easier to collect information on people using the internet. The software programs these plans are aimed at relate to sites that offer encryption or allow peer to peer traffic. …
Continue reading The Spies want to be your Facebook Friend – Spy Story of the Week
A pretty widely reproduced picture of Lincoln with Allan Pinkerton. Pinkerton is well known for his founding of the Pinkerton Detectives, but he was also a crucial part of the Union military as head of the Union Intelligence Division. He's also one of the few civilian members of the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame. More …
The Department of Defense is attempting to block publication of the book Operation Dark Heart: Spycraft and Special Ops on the Frontlines of Afghanistan by Anthony Shaffer, a former agent for the Defense Intelligence Agency. The book had been vetted by the Army Reserves but apparently has still has some sensitive information included. Full story …
Continue reading DOD suppresses spy book – Spy News Story of the Week – 9/10/2010